Chart: Price Check

The results of four separate adequacy studies conducted by a single consulting firm (Augenblick and associates) show one of the difficulties with estimating what it costs to provide an “adequate” education. The figures below highlight the concern that the method itself determines how high the cost estimate will be. The authors of the studies in these four states used two methods, the professional-judgment and successful-schools methods, to determine the cost of an adequate education in each state.

Note: Figures have been adjusted for regional cost differences and inflation to represent 2004 dollars.
SOURCE: Special analysis for Education Week by Bruce D. Baker, University of Kansas, 2004